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FFF meets Danny Fishwick

The third part of our FFF meets series is a chat with current Wolverhampton Wanderers and former Fleetwood Town First Team Sports Therapist Danny Fishwick. Danny discusses his Footballl Fitness philosophy as well as his favourite quote and where he does his learning.

Big thanks to Danny for taking the time to do the interview at a busy time of the year for him.

What are the 3 key training philosophies you adopt with your players?

1. Importance of Injury Prevention Strategies (Pre-hab)

2. Importance of Functional Strength – Gym Based Work

3. Importance of the players’ recovery - Recovery is under-rated

What area of Football Fitness are you most passionate about and what have you done in regards to this?

Injury Prevention and Prehab are the parts of my work that I am most passionate about, they are relatively new to the industry but extremely effective. There is lots of research that shows how effective it is and how well it reduces the risk of injury. Getting this information across to the players will be important but once they buy into the ideas it will run well and become a major part of the footballers’ daily and weekly schedule.

What has been the most useful thing you’ve done to help your practice?

Listen to other peoples’ experiences, feedback and constructive criticism. It’s important to use information from all directions to reflect on your practices and work, and use this to help improve the ways you do things and thoughts on different knowledge areas.

How does your role change when a new manager comes in?

A new manager can come in with different styles, different ways and means. It's about adapting to the change and working with the managers views as well as trying to get him on side with the current strategies that the medical team use from a medicine and sports science point of view. With the manager on side, it becomes easier to have an influence when it comes to prehab and training loads etc.

What recovery methods do you use with your players?

We use gym based recovery with the use of spin bikes, mat work (stretching, foam rolling), as well as soft tissue work and hydrotherapy. Good food is also essential when it comes to recovery.

What one thing do you think players need to do that they are not currently to help with their performance on the pitch?

I think a minority of players can come into injury prevention sessions and prehab, not taking it seriously and not understanding the benefits. As back when their careers began this wasn’t part of the schedule. This could be improved through education and player inclusion when it comes to session building and creating individual targets.

What are three areas that your opinion has changed recently?

1. How vital recovery is for the players, not just one day after a game but 2+ days post game.

2. The importance of injury prevention strategies and individualized sessions to help reduce the risk of injuries in which the screenings may show an imbalance or red flag with regards to previous injury. Ensuring this is a regular occurrence.

3. Players know their own bodies, especially the more experienced ones. The inclusion of these players in your program creation can help a lot when it comes to its continued adherence.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I recently heard a brilliant quote: “Work hard in silence, let your success be the noise”. I would tell myself to not get frustrated at failure, use it as a positive and keep working hard – good things come to those who work hard for it.

What are your go to websites, social media pages, blogs etc for Football Fitness information?

I think twitter is a great forum for different professionals and their thoughts and research so I find it extremely useful in terms of differing opinions and evidence based practice. Football fitness is obviously one of those pages which can promote healthy discussion. Apart from that there are numerous websites that specialise in different parts of my work which can be very useful.